


Morning bloom

by Ether Vibes (Vriskaserbet), Vriskaserbet



Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 21:55:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19450276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vriskaserbet/pseuds/Ether%20Vibes, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vriskaserbet/pseuds/Vriskaserbet
Summary: With every step she took, her shaking legs shook more, her aching muscles ached more, her bloody nose bled more, her loosened tooth loosened more, her growling stomach growled more—and yet she kept walking, carefully entering back alleys and keeping in the shadows, hiding behind trash cans when she heard the slightest noise. As she hid behind one, she couldn’t help but let her knees go weak and fall to the ground, giving herself a few moments of rest.Putunia Mollar looked up at the sky, the rising sun tinting everything a soft pink, and found herself crying yet again.(Headcanon/personal theory of how Putuina came to the Habitat.)





	Morning bloom

With every step she took, her shaking legs shook more, her aching muscles ached more, her bloody nose bled more, her loosened tooth loosened more, her growling stomach growled more—and yet she kept walking, carefully entering back alleys and keeping in the shadows, hiding behind trash cans when she heard the slightest noise. As she hid behind one, she couldn’t help but let her knees go weak and fall to the ground, giving herself a few moments of rest.

Putunia Mollar looked up at the sky, the rising sun tinting everything a soft pink, and found herself crying yet again.

She rubbed her eyes with her good hand, the other one firmly placed into her dad’s punching glove, and sniffed loudly, scrunching up her face in the hopes the tears would stop falling. It only seemed to make it worse and when she let go, her face hurting from holding it too long, a loud sob escaped her body. She sobbed again, this time out of pure pain.

Curled up on the ground, legs to her chest, her bruised arms wrapped around them—she sobbed yet again, unable to control her cries. In her chest, her heart was thumping at full speed, her brain screaming horrible, horrible thoughts of the police finding her or 911 being called; getting dragged back home where her parents would be waiting there, with open, wide smiles and twitching hands for her and even when she screamed out for anybody to save her—

No one seemed to hear.

_ ‘Gotta keep moving, gotta keep moving, gotta keep moving…’  _ she thought to herself on an endless loop. She looked up at the sky again, though was unsure how much time had passed. She forced herself to uncurl, back onto her weary legs. She wiped away some of the snot that had dripped down, wiping it away on her torn up leggings. Then, she scrubbed her eyes hard to get the last of the tears out. She coughed as quietly as she could manage it, then peered her head out to look for anybody—

A man was standing right there.

A squeak erupted from her throat and quickly went back into hiding, her heart racing yet again. She waited there for a few seconds, then looked out again.

Yep. Still there. Actually, did he get closer…?

He was tall, taller than anybody she had ever seen before. He had green skin, a large nose and orange eyes, with long eyelashes. His red hair was curly and long, even longer then her aunt’s. He wore a little black hat, a long blue coat with some sort of pink flower collar around his neck, with blue pants and pointy black shoes. He held two white bags in his right hand. 

He stared back at an expression she had never quite seen before, with a sort of gentleness she wasn’t used to. She pulled herself back, even though it was useless. Any moment now, he was going to call the cops or pick her up and throw her in jail or call up Masked Driver to beat her up!!

She heard something rustling, as though he was looking through his pockets. She gulped, knowing for sure he was about to call an Authority Figure. Her gloved hand tightened, ready to ambush him with a good ka-pow!

Before she could, he spoke.

“Hell-o there! Are u hungry-e?” His voice was deep. She blinked and relaxed her fist, poking her head out. He was holding a small sandwich in his hands, wrapped up in white paper. 

“I hav foode! Do u like breakfast samwiches?”

Her stomach was practically punching her insides, preventing her from worrying  _ too  _ much. “...Yes.”

“Yay! Here, don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you. That’’s a Promise. :-)” She stood there for a moment, gauging his face. Finally, she left her hiding spot fully and walked towards him, snatching the sandwich and tearing the wrapper up quickly. Wary, she took a few steps away from him. 

He sat on the ground and placed the bags down, respecting the distance and still smiling at her. Putuina took a large bite, a smile beaming on her face immediately. She scarfed it down in only a few bites, licking the crumbs off of her fingers happily.

“You must be starveng! Here,” he reached into the bags again, taking out a small chocolate chip cookie and a small carton of milk. “Have sum more! There’s plenty more!” 

She quickly took the food from him again, though not so intensely this time. Returning to her spot, she opened up the carton and drank it down in one gulp.

“Ahhh,” she sighed, smiling. “That’se the good stuff!” she paused, placing it down. “Um… thanks… um… what’s your name?” 

“Habit. Dr. Habit. Can you tell me you’res?” 

“...Putuina.”

He beamed. “What a lovely-e name!” 

“...Thanks.” she tried to bite down on her cookie, only for her loose tooth to wiggle and twist painfully.

“Ow!” she cried out, opening her mouth to feel the tooth. Immediately, Habit eyebrows shot up and gasped.

“I didn’t realize!! Ur poor tooth!! It has the frownies!!” his hands fidgeted. “Does it hurt?”

“It’s all wriggly and loose… like a worm. A gross, bloody worm. It hurts when I move it or when I bite down.”

“Oh nooooo :-(!! But, there is some “good” news in this!”

“What’s that?” she tilted her head.

“You see, I’m no ordinary doctor!! I’m a dent’est!!” He proudly smiled. “I’m a doctor who can fix that frownie before you can even say ‘Fix my frownie, Dr. Habit!’” He held out his hand. “Please, come with me. I can take you to the Habitat and get you alll better.”

Panicking, Putuina backed up a bit. Her hands were trembling, but she tried to stand on her tip-toes and make herself tall. “Um… I’m okay… really!”

“Oh, Nonsense! I promised you, I wouldn’t hurt you! Putuina… are u afraid of going to the Dentists?”

She frowned, debating how much she should tell. “I… I’m afraid that… you’re gonna tell someone ‘bout me. Like the police. And make me go back home.”

Habit shook his head. “Uh-uh. No way. Nuh-uh.”

“Well… why don’t you!” she yelled, her cheeks flushed. “Everyone just makes me go back home! No one listens to me! And no one takes me seriously! Even when I get big, big bruises, everyone just sends me back home!”

Habit was silent for a long moment, brows furrowed as he thought of what to say. He fidgeted with his hands again, then sighed. 

“Becuz the same happened 2 me, Growing Up.” He smiled again, but this time opened his mouth. It didn’t take her long to take notice of the missing teeth, nor did it take her long to get the implication. He shut his mouth, a thoughtful look on his face.

“My smile was hurt by my Dad. And it seemed like nobody even cared. I was all alone back then. A lot has happened since then… but I’m finally doing what I wanna do. I wanna make people happy. I want them to smile wid-e and smile happily-e. I want to help everyone who has the frownies, no matter who they are or what I have to do! So sometimes, doing the real “Right” thing means not doing the wrong “Right” thing. So I won’t call the police. And I won’t take you home.”

He held his hand out. “Come with me, to the Habitat. I can get rid of that frownie tooth in no time. You can stay there, where you’ll be safe and happy! No one wil ever hurt u ever again. I promise you.”

Putuina eyes shined, completely starstruck and awed. She nodded her head, slowly reaching her hand out and grabbing his. His fingers wrapped around her, gentle and sweet. He easily picked her up, holding her close to his chest. He grabbed the bags, smiled down at her, then began walking home. 

* * *

The elevator doors opened, Kamal walking in with a loud yawn. As always, Habit was sitting at one of the many waiting chairs-- giddy as always. Today, he looked particularly happy, his legs swinging and his hands flapping.

“Morning, Habit! You got my usual-”

“Kamal! Kamal, Kamal, Kamal!!” Habit ran up to him, bouncing up and down. He grabbed Kamal’s hands, forcing the man to jump with him. “I have good news! Very! Very! Good! News!” 

“A-Ah, o-okay!? J-Just lemme go!” Habit did just that, squealing with excitement and shaking his arms all about. 

“Foll-ow me, but!! Be quiet, she is sleeping!!” He shushed him, though his own voice was quite loud. Kamal followed along anyways, rolling his eyes affectionately once Habit had his back turned. 

Habit entered the doctor’s office and beamed. Kamal walked in, quickly noticing the sleeping kid on Habit’s dentist chair. She looked rough, with bruised up arms and torn up clothing, bandaids on small cuts around her face.

“W...What happened to her?” he whispered, hand to his mouth. 

“Her parents were abusing her and from what she told me, none of the adults in her life believed her.” Habit whispered back.

“Oh, the poor thing…” 

“Mmhmm.”

“How did you find her? Did a family member come to drop her off here, or…?”   
  
“Oh, I found her in an alleyway.”

Kamal blinked. He blinked again, a slow horror dawning on him. “You… found her in an alleyway…?”

“Yes!”

“She wasn’t with… any adult…?”

“Nope!”

“...Did she have any… I-I don’t know… permission to come here by… anyone???”

“Nope! She’s a runaway!”

Kamal’s pupils were small, his eyes wide, with an incredibly pained smile on his face. “You’re joking, right?”

“Noperoni with cheese!”

Kamal paced around the room at that, muttering to himself in disbelief, sweating from it all. He would look back at Habit or the kid, then go right back to it, usually whispering, “OH MY GOD” to himself and would let out nervous bursts of laughter. Finally, he returned to Habit’s side, slamming his face into his coat to muffle a quick scream. 

“...Are u okay, Kamal? Do you want your samwich? U get cranky when you’re hungry!”

Kamal sighed, still muffled by the coat, then pulled his head out. “ _ HABIT, _ don’t you  _ realize _ we could get in _serious_ trouble?! You just… just KIDNAPPED a child!”

“But she agreed to com with me! That isn’t kidnapping, u know!”

“Oh my god,” he dragged his hand down his face. “You’re killing me. You’re killing me, Habit. Look, you really should’ve-”

“Got her in serious trouble?” he crossed his arms. “Kamal, no one believes her! On the walk here, she told me A Lot. She’s tried telling every1. Her family, teachurs, neighburs, she even tried telling a local police officur. But, her parents make up all sorts of lies and excuses. That she’s “diffiicult” or that she hurts herself on purpose, or that she’s just dramatic and over-imagiinatiive. Wherever she came from, it’s not safe for her.”

Habit’s seriousness and firmness had Kamal taken aback, no words left to say. Habit sighed and looked over and gently placed his hand on her head, running his clawed fingers through her hair. “She deserves a bit of happiness here, even if in the end, it’ll hurt me.”

Kamal rubbed his arm, looking away with a frown. “...I don’t completely agree with this but… I get where you’re coming from. I… I promise, I won’t tell anyone.”

“You mean it? Promise?”

“Yes, I promise.”

Habit removed his hand from her head, holding out his pinkie to him. “Pinki-e promise??”   


Kamal gently laughed, interlocking his pinkie with Habit’s. “Yes, yes, pinkie promise.”

“Goodie! Now, you’re first job for today is to take her into a spare room!” He picked her up, placing her in Kamal’s arms. Kamal gulped, holding her as carefully as he could manage. “She was very tired from her journ-ey, so she might jus sleep for most of the day. Make shore to check uppe on her, tho!!”

He walked to the counter, behind the chair, grabbing a white bag and handing it to Kamal. “Your second job is to eat your breakfast!! And have a nice day! :-)” 

Kamal took the bag. “Gosh, you’re too nice. Okay, I’ll be right back then.”

“Okay!! Bye!!” Kamal left the office, opening up the elevator. Habit stayed there by the door, waving, until the doors finally shut and it went down. He turned on his heel, making his way to the tool table right by the chair. There, was the tooth he had removed. He grabbed it, moving it around carefully. Luckily for her, it was only a baby tooth. She hadn’t begun forming any of her adult teeth yet. Teeth like these, despite their size, were still very, very important.

He slowly inserted it into his mouth, clicking it into place. He moved his jaw around, ensuring it wouldn’t wiggle away. He nodded to himself, pleased. He looked out the window, seeing the entirety of the Habitat and smiled wide. 

He was still so far off, but today had reminded him that he was at the perfect point of his life, finally doing what he wanted to do. Soon, he could save everyone. Soon, he could make everyone happy. Soon, everyone

Would Smile For Him. :-) 

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written fanfiction in forever, so sorry for any flaws. My editor/beta reader Bri (Vriskaserbet) spent a lot of time helping me on this story, so major kudos to her!! (And thanks for letting me a Pseuds so I could upload it onto here!! You're too nice.)
> 
> Anyways, I know /canonically/ Putuina doesn't really like Habit, but well: my best friend, Bri and I were all talking about our headcanons to why the Habiticians came to the Habitat (excluding the ones with canon reasons, like Tiff/Parsley/etc) and there's a lot of interesting implications for Putuina. If you check the website for the game, she says that she likes the Habitat because nobody yells at her and promises that nobody will hurt you or your smile. So, it's super implied she doesn't have a good home life.
> 
> We started spit-balling ideas and it came to what you just read. She's a runaway kid who suffers physical abuse at home and after no one believed her, she escaped and Habit found her. And, just because we're indulgent, she DID like him-- but the recent creepy PSAs, his utter disappearance recently and so on made her convinced he had turned evil like in her superhero shows. So, she wants to take down the "Green Menace" and get the REAL Habit back. Post-game, they would be close! And in TRUE self indulgent mode, she basically sees him as her dad and gets adopted by him. Maybe I should write a fic of Habit, Kamal and Putuina being a weird family. 
> 
> I hope everyone was in character (though again, I stretched just a bit for fun, 'cuz this is a fanfiction babey) and that this was an enjoyable read! I love this game so much, it means so much to me as a depressed survivor of abuse myself. I really want to write more for this series and in general, the themes of recovery just... really inspire me to create again, you know?
> 
> Ah, I totally rambled. To wrap things up, thank you for reading again. Please leave a kudo/bookmark/comment if you enjoyed this, that means the world to me. Bri's Tumblr is @vriskaserbet, where she gave me permission to cross-post it there as well. Check out her other stories, they're all fantastic! Have a great day/night! :-)


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